Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

The villager then slowly turned around, revealing a smile that was more like a grimace. "Sirs, I will take you to the clan chief right away."

He led the man to the gate of the clan chief's house. "Gentlemen, this is it. May I leave now?"

With a wave of his hand, the villagers, as if granted a pardon, took off running.

Seeing the villagers running away, the two of them said in unison, "Cowards."

A constable stepped forward and knocked on the door. The old clan chief opened it and asked, "May I ask who you two are looking for?"

"We are looking for Liu Tianbao, the clan head of Liujia Village."

"Please come in, gentlemen. I am Liu Tianbao."

"There's no need to go in."

"We have been dispatched by the county magistrate to deliver the appointment letter for the village head. Gather the villagers now; we want it read aloud on the spot."

The old clan chief immediately agreed, asking the two constables to wait while he went inside to get the gong.

In the past, the appointment letter for the village chief was simply delivered by a yamen runner and that was it. This time, however, the official was personally reading it aloud, which shows how much importance the officials attached to this matter.

The clan chief started banging a gong as soon as he left the house, and led two constables all the way to the big willow tree in the village.

The villagers came over in twos and threes when they heard the gong. When they saw the two constables, some of them wanted to run away, but the clan chief stopped them, saying, "Don't run, everyone. The constables have something to say."

"Tie Dan, go and tell your Uncle Jin Sheng to come over quickly."

In a short while, the area under the big willow tree was full of people, and the clan chief asked Liu Jinsheng to stand at the front.

A yamen runner cleared his throat and announced, "Fellow villagers of Liujia Village, the magistrate has instructed us to read out the appointment letter for the village head of Liujia Village."

Where is Liu Jinsheng?

Liu Jinsheng stepped forward, "This humble subject is here!"

The yamen runner began reading the appointment letter: "Upon the joint recommendation of the villagers of Liujia Village, Liu Jinsheng, a villager of Liujia Village, is hereby appointed as the village head of Liujia Village."

The yamen runner handed the appointment letter to Liu Jinsheng, then changed the subject, saying, "The magistrate has a message for all the villagers of Liujia Village and the new village chief: He hopes that the village chief can educate the villagers to refrain from illegal acts, avoid greed for ill-gotten gains, help each other, work hard to get rich, and create a united, friendly, and simple village."

The villagers of Liujia Village must listen to instruction, obey discipline, and know proper etiquette. They must not forget the lessons learned previously; any further offenses will not be tolerated.

After finishing their business, the two constables rode off on horseback to take their leave.

Once the constables were out of sight, a commotion broke out under the big willow tree. Some congratulated Liu Jinsheng and asked him to treat everyone to a drink. Others took the opportunity to suggest that Liu Jinsheng help persuade Liu Siyue to buy the villagers' hawthorns. Still others said that Liu Dawang's family was getting rich by themselves without sharing with everyone, which was not a very kind thing to do.

Liu Jinsheng looked at the clan chief, who handed him the gong and left with his hands behind his back. He understood the clan chief's attitude, but he was already surrounded by villagers and couldn't get away.

He swung his arms twice in the crowd and banged the gong hard. He knew that from the moment he received the letter of appointment and the gong, his work had officially begun.

The sound of the gong spread through the crowd, and the crowd fell silent instantly. He rushed out of the crowd and stood on a large rock. "Fellow villagers of Liujia Village, have you all forgotten what the constable just said? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

I've only just taken over as village chief; it's not something I can do just because you ask me to.

I understand how everyone feels, but you also have to understand me. There's a method to everything we do; we can't just force others to do things for our own benefit.

You came to me before about selling your hawthorns, and I told you that whether or not I would accept your fruit was their business, and I had no right to demand anything from them.

Why don't they accept yours? You villagers should go back and think about it carefully. They would rather go to other villages to buy from nearby ones, so why don't they accept yours? There must be a reason for this.

"Once you've thought it through, we can discuss selling hawthorn berries again."

"What's there to think about? It's just that when their house was robbed, their family members were beaten, and we didn't help them."

We are just ordinary villagers, we can...

What kind of help we provide is decided by the village chief and clan elders. At most, it's just that we didn't say a word in their defense, and they've already held a grudge against us.

We're all from the same village, why be so petty?

"If you don't even know how to speak up for others, then what right do you have to ask others to accept your gifts?"

You still haven't realized your mistake. Put yourself in their shoes, what would you have done if you were in their shoes?

Someone blurted out, "We absolutely can't accept it. They won't help me, why should I help him?"

"Look at you, that's what you yourselves think, so why do you expect others to think the same way?"

"Now that everyone knows where we went wrong, we should work hard to correct it and show our determination and sincerity in doing so."

"Village chief, we're just ignorant peasants, we don't know anything, we'll do whatever you say!"

"Alright, since you've all put it that way, I'll come up with a solution, and you can't back out now."

"Village chief, you said we'd do anything illegal, as long as it's not murder or arson."

"Alright, you can all go back now. I'll let everyone know when I come up with a solution, but you all better behave yourselves and don't cause any more trouble."

The villagers dispersed, and Liu Jinsheng went to find the clan chief.

When the clan chief saw him arrive, he chuckled and said, "I knew you'd come, kid."

"Nothing can be hidden from my uncle. Uncle, what do you think I should do as village chief?" Liu Jinsheng recounted what had just happened, and the clan chief gave him an approving look. "You did a good job, kid."

"Hehe, I learned all of this from being a manager and waiter in a restaurant during those years."

"Being a village chief and being the head of a family are the same principle. The head of a family is in charge of a small family, and they are in charge of their own flesh and blood relatives. The interpersonal relationships are relatively simpler."

They need to handle weddings and funerals, daily necessities, neighborly relations, and plan for their daily lives and the future.

The village chief's job is to manage the big family of Liujia Village. Yes, the interpersonal relationships are more complicated, and the things to be done are more tedious. He must have principles and a bottom line.

No matter who crosses the line, they cannot be forgiven. Rules are rules; without rules, there can be no order.

Maoquan serves as a cautionary tale. He meant well for the villagers of Liujia Village, but his mistake lay in his lack of principles and bottom line. His constant indulgence only fueled people's ambition and greed.

"Uncle, I understand."

"What should be done about the red berries that the villagers have picked?"

The clan chief chuckled, "They think that by having more people and using threats and pressure, people will accept their things. They are actually very wrong. This will only make others more resentful, and even if they want to help, they won't."

April is a kind-hearted, loyal, and capable girl.

Even though you are the village chief, never use your position to pressure her or force her to do things; she won't listen to that.

The reason she refused to accept the villagers' fruit was because they only cared about profit and showed no remorse. What the girl wanted was an attitude.

As the newly appointed village chief, you can use this opportunity to establish your prestige in the village.

"But Uncle, I don't know Dawang and him very well in April, so I won't be able to talk to them if I go there."

"Here's what we'll do: you go back and think about how to get the villagers to show sincerity and a proper attitude."

"Come to my place after breakfast tomorrow, and I'll take you to Da Wang's house to meet that girl."

Liu Jinsheng was overjoyed and quickly bowed to the clan chief to express his gratitude. The clan chief smiled and said, "We're all family, you must do a good job."